Through the Eyes of a Servant Chapter 12, a maximum ride fanfic

Through the Eyes of a Servant | Chapter 12 | by: Rachel / Chapter posted August 21st, 2010.

AU | Max/Fang | PG / 3,808 words

When Max accepts a job as a maid in Fang's household, will it be love at first sight? Or will anything and everything come between them?

The idea for this story is my own, and no one else's. Everything else belongs to Jame's Patterson -although I will be next in line for the throne when he retires xD-. I made no money for writing this story, I simply write for reviews.

Max woke up to the morning sun spilling through the window and onto the covers. Birds chirped outside the window, signaling that it was time to wake up. But she buried her head further into Fang's chest, just pretending to be asleep. She smiled as she remembered yesterday. But then, how could she forget?

Fang's right wing covered her completely in a makeshift blanket, her own left wing wrapped loosely around him. It was so strange knowing that Fang had wings. In a way, it was a bit of a dream come true. When she was younger, she had wished for someone like her. Now, it seemed surreal.

Denying the fact that she had woken up was always her favorite part of the day, those blissful few minutes before the world woke up, when she could just close her eyes and listen to the silence. Fang stirred next to her, and she knew he had woken up. But she didn't open her eyes.

"I know you're awake, Max," Fang smirked, and she stuck her tongue out childishly. His arms tightened around her, and she felt a flood of happiness race through her body. His hands traced light circles on her back, on that spot where her wings poked out of the slits in her shirt.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked, fully awake now.

He grinned down at her. "Pretty good. But it's pretty hard to get to sleep in the first place with someone staring at you with this big, goofy smile on her face the entire night." He grinned.

"Shut up," she muttered, glaring slightly. "I was not." He laughed out loud.

"Sure. And I bet you weren't poking my face, either." She reddened significantly as he chuckled. "Relax, I'm a light sleeper."

She rolled her eyes. "You were doing okay yesterday, don't be a jerk."

But she closed her eyes again and rested her head on his chest. She knew what they were both thinking. She didn't want him to leave and go back to his house. It was her day off, so at least she was free. But he would be in even more trouble if he didn't return home soon.

Up until the last part of the evening, yesterday had been fun. Her father didn't hate him, thankfully. Although, he was standoffish, almost to the point of being rude, when she brought any boy home. Iggy had stopped hating him, and he understood the situation better than almost anyone else. Gazzy had even managed to keep the rich boy jokes to a minimum.

Why couldn't it be like that all the time? Why couldn't his mom just accept who he was, and who he wanted to be? She bit her lip. She wanted more times like this. The summer was ending fast. She wanted to make sure that things would stay the same, even in a few months.

And then an idea hit her like a train. Today was the second of July, two days from the fourth. In past years, her family would always have a cookout sort of party and invite various friends and people from the neighborhood. If they were lucky, could they pull off the same thing?

She made a snap decision, not caring if her father said yes or no. Daddy's little girl could convince him of anything. "Fang, can I ask you something?" she looked up at him, and he shrugged.

"Sure."

"Well, we always have a fourth of July celebration here, or wherever we are, really. Different people come, and we all eat hamburgers and stuff, and watch fireworks. Remember hamburgers, Fang? You like hamburgers," she pointed out, and he looked down at her in amusement, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

She rolled her eyes. "Screw you. I just wondered if you'd like to come, is all. You could bring Nudge and Angel, too, I guess," she added. There, genius. Perfect plan. She smiled up at him hopefully.

"Your main interest these days seems to be getting me to go places with you and your family," he observed. "Well, we'd all like to go. But you forgot one small detail. How the hell am I supposed to escape my house?" She rolled her eyes and took a minute to wipe the Fang-spittle off her face.

"Simple," she answered. "You see, while I was minding my own business dusting the railing of the stairs, I heard your mother walking down the hall. Naturally, I thought she'd be there to bite my head off. So I simply jumped into the broom closet and hid."

"Stalker," Fang mumbled. He was slapped again.

"Anyway," she glared at him, "I heard her say that she would be gone from the night of the third until the afternoon of the fifth to visit a sister of hers in Florida, and that you kids would be left at the mercy of the servants. And if we know anything about them, they're not going to want to hang around you on the fourth of July. They have families."

"You want me to sneak out again?" he asked. "You're asking my sisters and I to sneak out of our house to spend the fourth of July with you?" She nodded. He sighed. "Fine. But I'll be thinking of ways for you to repay me for the next two days."

She rolled her eyes. "Repay you? How many times have you actually celebrated the fourth of July?"

"Well, we would always kill beetles with sparklers and threaten to light Angel's hair on fire…does that count?"

"That's it," she slapped her forehead. "You're coming, and that's final."

"No."

"But-"

"No!"

"Nudge-"

"I said no! I don't want to see him, Fang!" Nudge threw a pillow at her brother, who dodged it quickly. "Now get out of my room! I just want to eat chocolate and feel depressed like a teenage girl's supposed to feel when she gets rejected!" He rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was to try to convince his hormonal sister to go to a fourth of July party.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" He flopped down on her bed to try a more reasonable approach. "You don't even have to do anything but talk to random people, have fun and eat hamburgers! You like hamburgers," he said, trying to be as sly and manipulative as Max had been.

"I don't care! Iggy will be there, and I've already had enough humiliation for one lifetime, thank you very much," she glared, and stuffed her face into another of her frilly pillows. That was one of the things Fang hated about her room. It was just so…pink. "Plus, I've never even had a hamburger!" Oh, that went well, his subconscious commented.

"Oh," he said sourly. "Look, Nudge, you don't even have to talk to him. But you like Max, and she's the one that invited you. If you won't go because of me, at least go because of Max. She's been nice to you for almost two months now."

"I know," she sighed. "But what'll I do if he talks to me, Fang?"

"Nudge, I don't know why he wouldn't choose you. But he's a nice guy, and I think he's just a little confused," he offered. "Did you ever think that this is your opportunity to talk to him, find out what was wrong, and convince him to choose you?" her face lit up.

"You think so?" she asked, smiling slightly. "You're right, Fang. I bet if I just talked to him about it, he'd definitely choose me!"
"Well, I wouldn't go that far-"

"And after we get together, I'll find a bus ticket to wherever his girlfriend lives and tell her that the position of Iggy's girlfriend is filled!"

"Hold on just a second-"

"I love you, Fang! You're the best!"

After quick hug, she skipped from the room, leaving him stranded in the middle of the frills and enormous fluffy stuffed animals. Slowly, he walked across the room to the small tank, which held Nudge's prized possession – a turtle. Specifically, a turtle that Nudge hadn't realized was a male. Hence, the sparkly tutu.

"If you could talk," Fang peered at the tiny thing, "would you scream?"

Max was sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping coffee nonchalantly, as Iggy raced around the house. She had been observing him for the last half hour. Gazzy sat beside her. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why Ella coming over was such a big deal. Sure, they had dated for over a year, but that didn't mean anything…much.

"You are acting like such a hormonal girl," Max yelled at him for the third time as Jeb turned the page of his newspaper. "Ella is not going to freaking care if the couch pillows aren't fluffed or the top of the ceiling fan is dusty!" She huffed as he completely ignored her and ran back to his room, probably to re-make the beds or something like that.

"It's no use," Gazzy shook his head. "Ever since he heard that Ella was coming over, he's been so paranoid that she'll break up with him over every little thing. Which, really isn't a bad idea." Max rolled her eyes. She knew that Gazzy had never really liked Ella.

But she wondered. Ever since Iggy had taken a liking to Nudge, Max had been picturing him just eventually breaking up with Ella and ending up with her. But if he really did choose Ella…what would happen? Would Iggy leave, and never come back, even if Max wanted to stay with Fang? Would she lose her brother?

Max shook her head. She just didn't think they were right together. She liked Ella, sure. What wasn't to like? She was a straight-A student, just the right amount of popular, and not catty at all. But she just seemed too young for Iggy, despite being the same age. She just wasn't enough.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Max heaved an over-dramatic sigh. Speak of the devil. "And the devil shall appear," Gazzy answered her thoughts. Sometimes, that kid was as freaky as Angel. Iggy shot him a look and tripped over himself racing to the door. Max snorfle-coughed into her coffee as he picked himself up and opened the door.

"Iggy!" Ella squealed, and Gazzy mimicked throwing up into his coffee cup. "Ella," he answered. Woohoo. Cue emotional hugging in the doorway. Once they broke apart, she stood beaming at him. "Wow, it's so good to see you again! I missed you so, so much!" And Max's heart went out to her. She wondered how she'd feel if she was separated from Fang for so long.

Iggy smiled. No matter how much he had been thinking about Nudge, it was wonderful having Ella back with him. He cupped her face with one hand and lowered his lips to hers, and he was thrilled at how much love he still felt for her. They continued blissfully for well over thirty seconds before Jeb cleared his throat, and they sprang apart.

"Don't mind us," Max slapped on a fake smile. I feel bad for her and all, but, I mean, let's not get too carried away. Ella blushed furiously. "Seriously, don't mind her," Iggy whispered, and Max scowled. Let's not forget the raptor-hearing, hotshot.

He pulled her into the kitchen, where the whole family came into view. He poured her a cup of coffee and offered her a seat. "Hi, Max. Hi, Gazzy," she smiled, and they both waved at her from approximately two feet away. She looked down, embarrassed.

"Iggy, can I talk to you?" she asked, giving him a look. He didn't have to see it to know that she was serious. She grabbed his hand, dragged him down the hall and into his bedroom, locking the door behind her. "What?" he asked, annoyed. "You couldn't have waited a few more minutes?"

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Iggy…are you sure that this is what you really want?" She stared at him.

"What do you mean?"

She looked down. "It's just that you seemed so happy with Nudge. It didn't matter if it was the crappiest day of your life, she always cheered you up. And the day that you came home from the park…you looked so sad."

Looking back up at him, she saw confusion. "You always used to worry, and ask me if I was happy. Now, I am. But I'm wondering the same thing about you. I just want you to be happy. I want to know that you've made the right decision based on what you want."

He rolled his eyes in disgust. "Spare me your concern. I don't need it. Don't you realize that I made a promise to Ella a long time ago? This is my decision. I wouldn't do this if I didn't believe it was right." He brushed past her, his hand on the doorknob.

"Wait, Iggy," she grabbed his shoulder, but he jerked away from her touch. "Leave me alone, Max," he said, his voice like stone. "Just leave me the hell alone."

And he was gone, leaving her alone to think.

Alright. Here's our chance – almost everyone has already left to go home with their families. Tell Nudge to sneak out of her window, quickly. I'll see you up on the roof in three minutes, Angel. Sticking his head out the window to look around at the driveway, he could see the last of the cars leaving. He didn't need to ask if Angel had heard him. He knew she had.

Quickly, he swung his legs out so that he was sitting on the outside ledge, and closed the window with a quiet click. Jumping up off the balcony, he grabbed the tree branch above him and climbed onto the roof. I feel so Spiderman-ish.

Angel was waiting for him at the top of the roof, Nudge sitting behind her and picking something out of her nails. You sound a lot cooler in your thoughts, Fang. He rolled his eyes.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked, receiving nods from the both of them. First he grabbed Angel, picking her up and parachuting to the ground gently. Once he had done the same with Nudge, they were off, walking as quickly as they could without looking conspicuous. Luckily, all the gardeners had left.

He cast a sideways glance at Nudge, who was staring at the ground and lost in thought. Obviously, she still wasn't thrilled with the idea of going, and wasn't nearly as confident as she had felt the other day.

"Do you even remember where Max lives?" Angel asked skeptically.

"Uh…let's say that I do," he replied uneasily.

She rolled her eyes. "I knew it. You can't do anything right? Can you? Fine, I'll scan your memory. You were already there once, so it's embedded somewhere in your brain, right?" He shrugged, and they kept walking. After a few moments, Angel looked up at him. "Okay. Follow me."

Leading him through quiet neighborhoods and busy city streets, even Fang had to admit that he looked pretty strange, allowing himself to be dragged around by a little girl and her sister. This was so ruining his tough guy image. He just smiled as he was pulled forward.

"There, that one," he pointed straight ahead, to a small, tired house with a deteriorating front porch and missing shingles on the roof. "Are you high?" Nudge asked in disbelief. She had known Iggy was poor, but this…

"It's not bad," Fang laughed. He noticed that Nudge was sniffing the air, trying to figure out what that peculiar smell was. "That's the smell of hamburgers, by the way," he chuckled, and pulled them onto the porch, knocking lightly. The door was opened a few seconds later.

"Guys!" Max seemed genuinely surprised. "You brought Nudge and Angel, too!" She tried to ignore how Nudge looked at her feet, and how Iggy had acted earlier. "Come on in. My brother's making the food, so it should be ready soon." She tried to avoid saying Iggy's name, for fear of a sick-looking Nudge running away quickly.

They followed her inside. Angel wasted no time in finding Gazzy, dragging Nudge along with her. Max sent her a silent thank you – she didn't want Nudge to feel left out of anything that day. Fang kissed her lightly on the cheek and followed her out onto the back porch with Iggy. "Iggy, where's Ella?" she asked, eyes scanning for her.

Before Iggy or Fang could open their mouths to speak, Nudge turned around. "Who's Ella?" she asked. Iggy cast Max a sideways glance. "Uh, she's a friend of the family," Max answered quickly. So she was listening, she thought wryly. Nudge looked at her suspiciously, but turned away nevertheless. "She's resting a little. She'll be out by the time the fireworks start."

The locusts buzzed noisily as the sun started to set. Hamburgers were passed out one by one. At first, it was awkward for Nudge and Angel. It was the first time they'd ever been in a house that was anything short of a mansion, and it was strange seeing how different things were.

Fang and Max watched from their spot on the roof as Gazzy taught Angel and Nudge how to play different games that normal children learned at age three, like tag and hide and go seek. Frankly, they were intrigued, because it was just so different. But in a good way.

Slowly, different people in the neighborhood smelled the food and heard the laughter. Heads peeked over fences, and children stopped to stare, noticing the joy that you just didn't get in the poor, low-class part of town. "There's plenty to go around," Jeb held up a hamburger, and slowly, the people started trickling into the small backyard.

In a matter of minutes, laughing, eating and the quiet chatter of the evening could be heard as young and old piled in. Max remembered thinking that she was glad she had bought so much extra food. Dragging Fang inside, she helped him make a tray of sandwiches to be set out for the extra people.

Really, she enjoyed so many people coming together. She enjoyed seeing Fang so willing to help.

And looking at Max, Fang couldn't help but notice just how amazing she was, in every way. Eventually, they walked back outside and resumed their position on the roof, Fang silently tracing circles with his hand on Max's back, on that spot where her wings were tucked into her back.

He had realized something over the last couple weeks. He loved Max, and he never wanted her to leave him. He couldn't imagine his life without her, even though he hadn't even known her for that long. And he also knew that he was too young to make any commitment. But he was seriously thinking – if there was a way to make Max stay, shouldn't he go for it?

Max looked down at the crowd, and noticed something she couldn't believe - the guy from the bus, who chased her and probably would have beaten her up if Fang hadn't saved her - he was there, in her own backyard, cheerily chomping on a cheeseburger.

The bastard.

Leaping down from the roof, she strode through the countless people and walked up to said bastard. She was tempted to yell at him, but this was just too good. So her fist swung out, and she punched him, full in the face. He flew back into the fence, and when he looked back at her, there was murder on his face. Until it dawned on him. "You-you're her!" he stuttered.

Fang came up behind Max and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, it's me," snarled Max. "And you're a dirty ass if you think you're gonna fight me in front of all these kids!"

But then, he did something that she didn't believe. "I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I was an ass. I was just having a bad day, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry," he half-grinned down at her. And then she realized what was going on. He was hitting on her. "Uh, that's fine," she backed up slightly.

"D'you have a boyfriend?" he asked suddenly. Max could only gape.

Luckily, Fang was wearing his threatening face. "What the hell do you think I'm for, decoration?" he snarled, and the guy backed up. "Chill out, man," he stammered, and backed up. "It's all cool." Max had to forcibly haul the snarling Fang away.

At six o'clock, Nudge gathered all her courage. She knew that Iggy was more important to her than just about anything in the world, even if, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. And she'd be a fool not to try.

Iggy felt a light tap on his back, and turned around. When she spoke, he didn't have to have his eyesight to know that it was Nudge. His heart thudded in his chest painfully. Why couldn't she just understand that this was the way it had to be? He couldn't be with her, he just couldn't. It wasn't fair to Ella, after all she had waited for, after dreams that could still come true.

"Nudge," he said, in an attempt to sound calm and reserved but really only sounded weak and pleading. Pleading for her to go away, to stay away from him, because she could always find someone better, someone that wasn't already tied down.

"I need to talk to you," she bit her lip, and without waiting for a response, promptly pulled him inside. Without knowing a single thing about his house, she pulled him into the nearest corner, which happened to be the far end of the living room. She took a deep breath.

"Okay, so here it is, Iggy," she looked down, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I barely know you. As far as you're concerned, I'm not in your life, and we shouldn't be friends. But I want to know you!" He looked at her, confused.

She smiled softly. "I don't know what's going on in your life. I don't know all your problems. But when I went to that gas station, every day, it was because of you!" she looked at him. "Hear me out. I want to keep going there. I want to keep talking to you. I don't know you yet, but I want to know you!"

He stared at her, shocked.

"I don't even know how to say it, but I like you. I like you more than normal. And I know it's hard for us to be together, with my life and how I live, and how I'm different from you. But I like everything about you. I want to be good enough for you."

In an instant, he'd pinned her against the wall fiercely. "Don't say that. You don't need to be good enough for me, because you're perfect in every way." Her heart fluttered. He was so close. She could see everything – the way his bangs fell over his face, the way his eyelashes were so long, the way his colorless eyes still held so much meaning.

There was so much he wished he could tell her, so much that she didn't know, and so much that she didn't understand. "I like you, too." He pulled back, her heart pounding. "But I can't do this. She means too much to me." With a pang of jealousy, Nudge realized what 'she' meant.

"Iggy?" asked a voice behind him, and Iggy turned away. Standing in the doorway was a beautiful girl. Her shiny black hair stopped in the middle of her back, her dark eyes kind and inviting. Even in jeans and a T-shirt, she managed to outshine Nudge, but her face showed concern.

"Who's she?" both of them asked at the same time, and recoiled.

Max hummed something she'd heard on the radio as she walked into the kitchen, taking out another tray, more bread and sandwich meat, when she looked around the corner to see Ella, Iggy and Nudge, all in the same place. The tray dropped to the floor, but no one seemed to notice. Peeking out from behind the wall, she realized that she was technically eavesdropping. But she was worried about Iggy. She knew he'd make the right decision for Ella.

But would he make the right decision for himself?

Iggy looked at the floor. "Ella, I'd like you to meet Nudge. Nudge, this is Ella, my…my fiancé."

Thanks for all the reviews! My story is over the 150 review mark now, yay! *throws confetti into the air* So you all get an early update for being so nice! ^^ I start school in three days, so I'm updating this story as much as possible, meaning that there will probably be one more chapter -two if you're lucky- before that. My other stories WILL be updated soon, for anyone who reads them, but for the next few days, it's all about this one. :D

I've got some reviews asking if it's the end. The answer - OF COURSE NOT! Did you think the story was JUST based on Max and Fang finding out about each other's wings? I have WAY more plot twists coming your way! (Some of which you'll hate me for xD)

Again, thanks for reviewing! Every time someone clicks that button, it makes me incredibly happy! And, well, let's just say that every time you DON'T click the button, Pooh bear dies a little bit inside. D: So here's the question you should ask yourself - would you kill Pooh bear? xD

~Rachel